The Internet of Things: What is it?
Featured

There’s an advertisement on television where a house is portrayed as haunted. The lights flicker off and on all over the house, horror music plays, and a man across the street watches looking terrified. He says “It’s happening again.” Cut to a baby with a smart phone pushing buttons, which is causing the lights at the house to turn off and on. The parents laugh when they realize the baby is doing it again. So how exactly did the baby control the lights from the phone? This is due to a fantastic development in technology called the Internet of Things (IoT). The Internet of Things is something you may have heard in passing over the last couple years. Perhaps it was in the news, or on an informational pamphlet for a Wi-Fi capable product. Most of us though, are left curious and wondering what exactly the Internet of Things is.

A basic definition of the Internet of Things would be the network of physical devices, vehicles, and other items made for network connectivity which enable these objects to collect and exchange data. What that means is nay device you have that connects to the internet, or each other through the internet, falls under the umbrella of the Internet of Things. This covers everything from a smart TV, refrigerators, and coffee makers to just about anything else you can think of. IoT can also be applied to more complex machines, like components of an airplane’s jet engine, or a factory machine.

How Do You Use IoT?

If you don’t already use it, eventually you will find yourself with devices in your home that are part of IoT. For example, can you connect to your refrigerator with your smart phone? Perhaps you can connect remotely to your air conditioner to turn it on. How about using your Amazon Echo to power your lights? These are common examples of items that are connected through the internet. Even the smart bracelet you wear that tells you how active you were or tracks your calorie intake for the day is using the internet.

There are so many ways we, as regular users of technology can utilize IoT devices to make day-to-day life easier. If you have a connected thermostat, you can turn your air conditioner on via a phone app. This is not only handy on hot days but can also be a money saver. Imagine being able to turn your AC off while away and just connect through your phone to turn it on before heading home. Instead of coming home to a warm house, or keeping a cool house with a high electric bill, you can just turn on the AC by your phone and come home to a nice cool house. Imagine setting your alarm for the morning and when it goes off, it communicates to your coffee maker to start brewing. Imagine getting delayed by traffic when meeting a friend and your car sends a text for you to let them know you are delayed.

All of these great things are done by the Internet of Things. Any device that you can connect to the internet or to each other through the internet like coffee makers, refrigerators, grills, televisions, light switches, air conditioners just to name a few are devices that are a part of the IoT.

The Future of IoT

There is a lot devices can do with the brilliance of the Internet of Things. So what does the future hold for us? Is there much more that the internet of things can do that it doesn’t already do? Absolutely! The technology field expects to see IoT appear in more devices as new developments are made. In the last few years, we’ve seen many changes and new products consistently hit the shelves.

Who knows? That self-driving car in the works? Maybe that car can communicate with your home to get dinner started while you begin your commute home from work. Maybe your smart watch can warn you of an allergen in food you are about to eat at a friend’s house.

There are so many things that IoT has to offer and the staff at CompuTime is excited to see what IoT devices will be offered on the market next. CompuTime has been in technology for over 20 years, we have seen many changes in technology during that time and we are excited to see what changes are to come. As your locally owned and operated technology provider and source for repair, CompuTime technicians are ready and willing to assist you with all your technology needs!